The International Paralympic Committee have revealed Malawi’s Paralympic team have not travelled to London for the 2012 Games due to a lack of funding.

The visually-impaired sprinters Chisomo Jeremani and Janet Shedani were set to compete in athletics at the Olympic Stadium in Malawi’s first Paralympics, but have not now travelled to the UK.

The non-participation of Malawi means 165 nations will be represented over the 11 days of competition, which begin on Thursday. The African country had been due to be one of 15 nations making their Paralympic debuts in London.

The London organisers Locog had provided some money to help fund the trip, but according to officials from Malawi it was not enough to send the full delegation, including guides for the runners.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has launched a London 2012 Olympics app for Android and iOS smartphones.

The app will provide up to 24 streams of live coverage, detailed schedule and results pages, and daily news stories.

Alongside full live streaming, catch-up coverage and highlights, the app will offer facts, statistics and information for every athlete, country and sport.

Phil Fearnley, General Manager BBC News & Knowledge, said: “We needed to ensure everyone could access our coverage.”

The user will also be able to access live daily text commentaries, news stories and a detailed schedule and results section covering every Olympics event.

Extra functionality of the app allows stories to be saved for offline reading, ensuring the latest information is accessible even when mobile reception is unavailable.

Additionally, iOS users can personalise the app by adding their favourite Olympics sports to the customisable tab bar, enabling quick access to the latest live action.

Fearnley added: “The BBC Sport Olympics app ensures that everything you need to keep up-to-date with the action is right there at your fingertips. Even when you’re out of range of 3G or wireless, we’ll still be able to deliver the latest news to you offline.

“The app adds even greater value to the BBC Sport mobile experience, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Games.”

Mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé has announced that the Vinci Concession and Fayat architectural group has won the right to construct a new 43, herbal 000 seater stadium in the city, unhealthy which will host games at the 2016 European Championships. 

The approximate cost will be €165 million (£147 million/$237 million), cialis and is also supported by Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss architects who constructed the Allianz Arena in Munich, the home of German giants Bayern.

Juppé said: “This new modern, efficient building of a very high quality should be comfortable and accessible for those of limited mobility.”

Triaud said this week that he wants the stadium to have a classic Greek look modelled on other stadiums of a similar appearance around the world.

“I like the principle of a classical Greek construction, peripheral stairs which surround the stadium,” he said.

“I have seen beautiful stadiums in France and elsewhere where you have this impression.”

The new stadium – which is scheduled to open in 2015, a year before France stages the European Championships – will be funded by both private and public sources.

The state will provide €28 million (£25 million/$40 million), with another €15 million (£13 million/$22 million) coming from the Aquitaine region, and €17 million (£15 million/$24 million) from the city of Bordeaux.

Girondins de Bordeaux will then contribute €20 million (£18 million/$29 million) via their owners, TV chain M6, with a further annual payment of €3.85 million (£3.4 million/$5.5 million) over the next 30 years.

Former head of Asian Soccer Mohamed Bin Hammam claims revenge was the only thing on Sepp Baltter’s mind after he was given a life ban from the sport.

The Qatari became the highest-profile FIFA figure to be kicked out of the organisation.
He still remains ademanant in his innocence. “The ban for life shows how much these people are angry and how much they are full of revenge,” he said. 

He continues also to refer to the feeling of being guilty before the investigation began.

Asked whether he had paid $US 40,000 bribes to Caribbean Football Union members, Bin Hammam said he had only paid travel expenses for the infamous meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on May 10 and 11.

He remains confident in his appeal and he first do this with the FIFA’s Appeals Committee but admitted he would get no joy there and would have to work through more independent channels. 

“Then I should go to the civil courts in Switzerland where we have full confidence.

Icon, order an event branding and production specialist, discount  has been acquired in an £11m (US$18m) deal by global PR, unhealthy advertising and marketing group Chime Communications.

Chime, the holding company for international public relations group Bell Pottinger, has highlighted the growth opportunities surrounding the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics for its decision to invest.

Icon’s management buy-out from the CSS Stellar organisation saw growing sales from £11.6m ($19m) in 2008, to £18.6m ($30.4m) in 2010 – primarily through organic growth augmented by the acquisition of event production agency MEI. 

John Francis, managing director of Icon, said: “This is an exciting prospect for Icon and one which will have significant benefits for both our employees and clients alike. 

“Chime’s overseas operations will help to strengthen and augment our capabilities outside of the UK, enabling us to provide an even better global service to our existing and future international clientele.”

Icon has confirmed that it will continue to operate from its head office in south east London, and its existing facilities in Germany, Qatar, the UAE, Canada, India and South Africa, all under the control of the current Icon management team.

Edward Leask, director of Chime’s sports marketing division added: “Icon has an unparalleled reputation for delivering World Class branding implementation solutions across the biggest sporting events on the planet. 

“It has also developed a formidable reputation for innovative and unique experiential ideas that will augment the work we are already delivering across our event and consultancy businesses within CSM as well as the Chime network.”

Total Sports Asia have announced Tushaar Garg will join the organisation as Business Director of the Indian office.

TSA India has an established presence with 3 offices in India in Mumbai (Powai), viagra Delhi NCR (Gurgaon) and Bangalore. 

Tushaar Garg joins TSA effective immediately. He will report to Suvrangsu Mukherjee, Managing Director of the Indian Subcontinent. 

Prior to joining TSA, Tushaar worked with IMG India for 4 years where his most notable experience was the marketing of the central commercial program of the IPL since its inception in 2008. With IPL, a good example of one the world’s most successful new sports property launches, he gained enormous experience in the workings of a major ‘start up’ sport business project conducting business in India.

He also worked as the General Director of UAE Beach Soccer, a start-up project of the Dubai Sports Council in partnership with the UAE Football Association endorsed by the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), the agency tasked with promoting Dubai as a year-round destination of events and retail promotions, better known for organising the Dubai Shopping Festival. 

“I am pleased to have Tushaar join our team. His relevant experience combined with his learning at FIFA Master make him a strong choice. Tushaar will contribute in growing TSA’s current business and also play a crucial role in assisting the leadership of TSA as we negotiate the complex challenges in the development of a new growth chapter in TSA’s history,” said Mukherjee 

“Joining TSA is a homecoming for me. I am delighted to be joining TSA led by my former colleague and long-time mentor Suvrangsu. I believe in TSAs clear focus on emerging markets and emerging trends in sports marketing to drive growth and look forward to working under his leadership again,” said Garg. Tushaar is also a former Tennis Player.

The sports bidding for a place at the 2020 Olympics will be shortlisted during the SportAccord Convention in St. Petersburg, story Russia, generic order from 29-31 May where the IOC Executive Board will meet. 

The eight candidate sports – baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding, wrestling and wushu – attempting to gain inclusion in the Olympic Programme at the 2020 and 2024 Gameswill present to the Executive Board, who will then decide which sports to recommend to the 125th IOC Session to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September.

Each sport has been allocated a 30 minute slot in which to present their case to the Executive Board.

Following all eight presentations, the Executive Board will decide which bids will remain on the shortlist, with a public announcement on their decision scheduled to be made on the evening of May 29 in St Petersburg by the IOC director of communications Mark Adams.

The Summer Olympic International Federations and the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations will join the Executive Board to hear reports on the IOC’s latest activities and receive updates on preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi 2014, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and PyeongChang 2018.

Read our latest report on all eight bidding sports here>>